HMAS Adroit (P 82)

HMAS Adroit (P 82) was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS Adroit (at right) with three other Attack class patrol boats
History
Australia
Builder: Evans Deakin and Company
Laid down: August 1967
Launched: 3 February 1968
Commissioned: 17 August 1968
Decommissioned: 28 March 1992
Fate: Sunk as target
General characteristics
Class and type: Attack-class patrol boat
Displacement:
  • 100 tons standard
  • 146 tons full load
Length: 107.6 ft (32.8 m) length overall
Beam: 20 ft (6.1 m)
Draught:
  • 6.4 ft (2.0 m) at standard load
  • 7.3 ft (2.2 m) at full load
Propulsion:
  • 2 × 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines
  • 3,460 shp (2,580 kW)
  • 2 shafts
Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)
Range: 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement: 3 officers, 16 sailors
Armament:
  • 1 × Bofors 40 mm gun
  • 2 × .50 calibre M2 Browning machine guns
  • Small arms

Design and construction

The Attack class was ordered in 1964 to operate in Australian waters as patrol boats, based on lessons learned through using the Ton-class minesweepers on patrols around Borneo during the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and to replace a variety of old patrol, search-and-rescue, and general-purpose craft.[1] Initially, nine were ordered for the RAN, with another five for Papua New Guinea's Australian-run coastal security force, although another six ships were ordered to bring the class to twenty vessels.[1] The patrol boats had a displacement of 100 tons at standard load and 146 tons at full load, were 107.6 feet (32.8 m) in length overall, had a beam of 20 feet (6.1 m), and draughts of 6.4 feet (2.0 m) at standard load, and 7.3 feet (2.2 m) at full load.[1][2] Their propulsion machinery consisted of two 16-cylinder Paxman YJCM diesel engines, which supplied 3,460 shaft horsepower (2,580 kW) to the two propellers.[1][2] The vessels could achieve a top speed of 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph), and had a range of 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) at 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).[1][2] The ship's company consisted of three officers and sixteen sailors.[2] The main armament was a bow-mounted Bofors 40 mm gun, which was supplemented by two .50 calibre M2 Browning machine guns and various small arms.[1][2] The ships were designed with as many commercial components as possible: the Attacks were to operate in remote regions of Australia and New Guinea, and a town's hardware store would be more accessible than home base in a mechanical emergency.[3]

Adroit was laid down by Evans Deakin and Company at Brisbane, Queensland,[4] in August 1967, launched on 3 February 1968 and commissioned on 17 August 1968.[4]

Operational history

The patrol boat was transferred to the Fremantle Port Division of the Royal Australian Navy Reserve in March 1983.[4]

Fate

Adroit paid off on 28 March 1992. The patrol boat was sunk as a target by A-4 Skyhawk aircraft of No. 2 Squadron RNZAF on 8 August 1994.[5] The wreck is located in the Rottnest ship graveyard, west of Rottnest Island.[5]

Citations
  1. Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships Since 1946, p. 86
  2. Blackman (ed.), Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69, p. 18
  3. The Patrol Boat, Australian National Maritime Museum
  4. Gillett, Australian and New Zealand Ships Since 1946, p. 87
  5. Garratt, Dena; Green, Jeremy (2006) [1999]. Précis of the wrecks in the ship’s graveyard, Rottnest (PDF). Report—Department of Maritime Archaeology (Report). Western Australian Museum. Retrieved 15 August 2015.

References
  • Blackman, Raymond, ed. (1968). Jane's Fighting Ships, 1968–69 (71st ed.). London: Jane's Publishing Company. OCLC 123786869.
  • Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946. Brookvale, New South Wales: Child & Associates. ISBN 0-86777-219-0. OCLC 23470364.
  • "The Patrol Boat". Australian National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
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